Wilder Hearts
by Spunky0ne
Summary: Half-blood Kuchiki Tetsuya is a model of nobility, but what will happen when an unplanned tryst with a certain blue-haired hollow reveals secrets that could destroy Tetsuya and the friends who try to protect him? Main pairs are Grimmjow/Tetsuya and Ichigo/Renji...yaoi, mpreg


**Wilder Hearts**

**By Spunkyone**

**XXXXXXXXXX**

**Despite being a half-blood, Kuchiki Tetsuya is a model of nobility. But what will happen when a forbidden romance with a former Espada sparks the arrival of an unexpected relative who seeks to tame Tetsuya's wilder spirits? Ichigo and Renji join forces with Grimmjow to protect Tetsuya as he comes face to face with a past he could not have imagined! All four may lose their lives as a result. What secrets is the visitor hiding? And what will happen when Tetsuya is faced with a truth he can't bear to hear? Grimmjow/Tetsuya (Happy Birthday, Grimmy! Love you!) and Ichigo/Renji are the main couples, but there may be others...and of course, there is mpreg!**

**XXXXXXXXXX**

**Chapter 1: Red Raindrops**

"Ichigo, Renji," Byakuya said solemnly, looking up from where Kotetsu Isane leaned over him, applying pressure to an open wound in his chest, "Come here."

The two young men exchanged worried glances, then moved to the injured clan leader's side.

"What is it, Taichou?" Renji asked quickly, slipping a hand into the noble's and meeting his eyes warmly, "You look real worried about something. I know you were attacked upon reaching your family's evacuation site. Can you tell me what happened?"

Byakuya nodded briefly and sipped at the water Ichigo held up to his lips, then cleared his throat and began to speak to them.

"I was just short of the encampment when I heard the alarms sound, and the reiatsu in the area exploded. I moved as quickly as I could to defend the family members being protected there, but I was attacked by three quincies before I could reach them. I was able to subdue two of them and was forced to kill the last, then I proceeded on to the encampment, where I was met with the newly elected council of elders. They informed me that the encampment had, indeed, fallen under attack, and that my cousin, Tetsuya, whom, as you know is my bodyguard and the leader of our security forces, was faced with two powerful sternritters as well as a sea of soldats. The elders were able to position themselves to defend the retreating family from the soldats, while Tetsuya and his stallion, Arashi, held off the two most powerful enemies. The fighting was so fierce and Tetsuya was forced into bankai, which obscured the fighting field with mist and snow, so that it was impossible for the elders to know his fate."

"What are you saying?" Ichigo asked, his face paling as he remembered the clan leader's quiet and gentle-looking, blue-eyed cousin.

"Taichou, are you saying that they all just...abandoned him?" Renji said breathlessly.

Byakuya's eyes closed for a moment, then found theirs again.

"Everyone in that place understood as they watched Tetsuya and Arashi position themselves that they would not be able to hold back and wait for him. My cousin knew the risk that he was taking. He told the elders to get everyone out...that he would not let the enemies overrun them. And he kept true to his word. Not one family member died in the retreat."

"Except Tetsuya?" Ichigo whispered, his eyes tearing at the thought, "And Arashi?"

Renji's lips stiffened and he remained silent as Byakuya continued.

"As I said, Tetsuya and Arashi's fate is not known. They have not returned as yet, and certainly, if he was capable of doing so, Tetsuya would have returned to me, especially when word of my injury reached him. This does not bode well. It suggests that he might have been captured by an enemy, badly injured and lost or perhaps he was killed. No one has sensed his reiatsu since the family made their escape."

"This is bad," Renji said worriedly.

"Poor Tetsuya," Ichigo added, shaking his head.

"Tetsuya and I share a deep connection, a bond of kinship that demands that I make every effort to find him, and to find him quickly, but my body is a shambles from the fighting. And he cannot wait for me to receive healing. Therefore, I would entrust to the two of you the grave task of returning to that place and learning what has happened to Tetsuya and Arashi. Will you do this for me?"

"What? Are you kidding?" Ichigo said incredulously, "Byakuya, Tetsuya and Arashi are my friends too. If they're in trouble, I'm going to help them!"

"Thank you, Ichigo," the clan leader said gratefully.

"Count me in too, Taichou," Renji added, "Tetsuya and that fleabag horse of his are good friends. We won't let you down."

"I knew I could have faith in you both," Byakuya sighed wearily, glancing up at Isane as she finished working on the worst of his wounds.

"That's enough talking for now," the healer admonished him gently, "We will need to take you into surgery now, sir."

"Very well," the noble said unsteadily.

"Don't worry about anything, Taichou," Renji said firmly, "We'll find Tetsuya and Arashi and we'll bring them back here alive."

Byakuya nodded briefly, the cognizance leaving his glazy eyes as Isane injected him with a sedative.

"I am sorry, Abarai fukutaichou," she said penitently, "but we really must operate now."

"It's okay," Renji assured her, "I know you guys will take good care of him."

"How's Rukia doing?" Ichigo asked as orderlies arrived and pushed Byakuya's hospital bed out of the room, "Is she awake yet?"

"Not yet," Isane sighed, "She and the others who came back injured from the royal realm are still in recovery. Perhaps by the time you return from your mission, you will be able to see Kuchiki taichou and them as well."

"Thanks," Renji said solemnly, "C'mon Ichigo. Let's go."

"I'm with you."

The two flash stepped out of the damaged hospital building and paused in the street, where Renji gave a soft whistle and looked around expectantly. Ichigo followed his gaze and inhaled softly in surprise as a large, regal looking paint stallion trotted into view, followed by an equally tall, but odd-looking red stallion with huge, blinking, cinnamon colored eyes, long ears, and whose bright red coat bore stark, black striping across the withers and back that reminded the Shiba heir of Renji's tattoos.

"What the hell is _that_?" Ichigo mused, gazing blankly at the strange-looking horse.

"They're spirit steeds," Renji explained, "We need a way to get deep into the rugged area on the outside edges of the Rukongai, where there are places that have reiatsu dampers, so our powers won't work properly. The paint belongs to Kuchiki taichou. His name's Ikazuchi. That idiot next to him is mine. I call him Yakkaigoto, cause the bastard's trouble!"

The big red horse snorted derisively and stomped a foot in challenge.

"Whoa! Are these guys like Arashi? Do they use your powers?"

"Actually, no," Renji answered, shaking his head, "These are regular spirit steeds. Arashi's kind of...different."

"Different how?" Ichigo asked, accepting Renji's extended hand as he mounted Ikazuchi and the tall paint turned his head to observe the Shiba heir and sniff him over a finely sculpted shoulder.

"Well, first of all, he's not really a spirit steed."

"What?" Ichigo queried, blinking, "but he...?"

"A regular spirit steed is a soul, like us. Arashi's not just a soul. In fact, he's not an individual soul at all, but an extension of Tetsuya's."

"How does that work?" Ichigo asked as Renji mounted his balking steed and led Ichigo off at a fast walk.

"Taichou told me that, well, you know all about Tetsuya being a prisoner for most of his childhood because he is a half-blood, right?"

"Yeah, he told me."

"His powers were sealed away while he was there. But Taichou says that his will grew so strong, it became too strong for his weakened body to contain, so when Tetsuya was rescued and his powers were unsealed, Arashi emerged from within him and protected him in the battle at the prison. And strangely, even as Tetsuya grew stronger, Arashi remained, and was able to use Tetsuya's powers, himself. They can communicate telepathically too."

"Whoa! With just each other or...?"

"Fleabag's thrown a few insults my way, so I know he _can_ speak to others. He just prefers to speak only to Tetsuya."

"That's pretty amazing," Ichigo mused, following as Renji led him out of the Seireitei and into the beginnings of the wilderness at the edge of the Rukongai, "But I guess a guy Byakuya trusts to guard him would have to be something special."

"Taichou trained Tetsuya himself, and wherever Taichou goes, Tetsuya is usually nearby. The exception to that was during the war. Instead of having Tetsuya guard him, he ordered him to guard the family where they were hidden from Ywach and his sternritters. You remember that the bastard had, as one of his objectives, to find and destroy the noble families because their bloodlines are crucial to the strength of the Gotei 13. A lot of the strongest elders were killed in the initial attack, when one of those big pillars crashed down on the Noble's General Council Hall. Most of the families took heavy damage. But as soon as there was word there might be an attack, Taichou had Tetsuya evacuate the family. He warned the other families to do the same, but they thought they should make a stand to protect their homes and lands. A lot of them ended up dying. The Kuchiki family was spared because Taichou and Tetsuya prepared them for the attacks, even though they didn't know exactly when the enemies would arrive."

"I'll bet the Kuchiki elders and the rest of them are thanking their lucky stars for those two."

"Yeah. Now, we just have to do our best to make sure that the price for that isn't Tetsuya's life."

"What do you think are the chances that he's still alive?"

Renji sighed worriedly.

"Given that Tetsuya's as powerful as a taichou, himself, normally I'd not be terribly concerned. But, it doesn't look good right now. I could see in Taichou's eyes that he's really worried too."

"That was my take on it too. Well, let's get to it, then."

"All right," Renji agreed, touching his heels to Yakkaigoto's sides, spurring him into a gallop, "Let's go!"

XXXXXXXXXX

"Don't try to move, okay?" a gruff voice said, echoing strangely in Tetsuya's hazy mind as he cracked his eyes open and tried to focus.

"Wh-who are...y...?"

"I'm not an enemy," said the voice, seeming to clear as Tetsuya registered a flash of ice-blue eyes and like-colored, scraggly hair, "At least, right now, I'm not _your _enemy. But you're going to be your own enemy if you don't hold still. You're bleeding really badly. In fact, I don't know why you haven't bled out yet. Are you able to use some kind of ability, even here? I know my own powers have been real flaky."

"I command water," Tetsuya whispered weakly, "And yes, I am infusing my wounds with water, using the pressure at the bleeding sites to hold back some of the blood. It is more of an innate ability, rather than a reiatsu based power."

"Is that why what's coming out is so thin?" Tetsuya's rescuer asked, bending over the injured shinigami and infusing his battered body with healing reiatsu.

"Yes."

The blue-haired man gazed down at Tetsuya's lovely face, scowling as his expression began to go blank and he faded out again.

"Ho, hold on! Where the hell do you think you're going? You think I'm risking my neck, staying out here where I haven't got much more than healing power and can't raise a cero for fun?"

"A cero?" Tetsuya managed dizzily, his bleeding body tensing reflexively.

Immediately, he gave an agonized cry and fell back.

"That was stupid," Grimmjow scolded him irascibly, "I told you to hold the fuck still or you're gonna die. So, hold still, baka!"

"B-but you are...a...h-hollow?" Tetsuya panted, struggling to remain conscious as fresh waves of intense pain buffeted his besieged form, "I heard th-that..."

"Yeah, Urahara Kisuke worked out a deal with our kind so that we wouldn't all get fucked over by that Ywach bastard and his band of murderous buddies. Just be aware that the terms of that deal have been met. By all rights, I could just kill you."

"B-but you didn't."

"Not yet," the blue-haired man chuckled, continuing the healing infusion.

"And...n-not only didn't you kill m-me, you are...h-helping me?"

"I was on my way home and saw you lying there, all slashed up and nearly dead. But, you know, something in your eyes kinda grabbed me and told me that you _really_ didn't want to die just now."

"I d-don't," Tetsuya agreed, "But, why would a h-hollow care about my desires? Even my desire to live?"

The blue-haired hollow shrugged.

"I don't know," he said flippantly, "I guess I just thought you were too pretty to let you die all alone out here. So, I sat with you and talked to you a little, figuring I'd wait until you died and then I would leave."

Tetsuya swallowed hard and narrowed his eyes, taking in the blurred image of narrowed blue eyes that were lighter than his, pale skin and a handsome face, partially concealed by a white, bony mask.

"The name's Grimmjow," the hollow announced, "I was..."

"You were the sixth Espada during Aizen's reign in Hueco Mundo," Tetsuya recalled, "Byakuya-sama made certain that I was fully briefed on who the most powerful known Espadas were, after you attacked Rukia-chan."

"Eh, that's right," Grimmjow muttered, "Hope you're not holding a grudge over that. I was..."

"You were under Aizen's orders?"

"Th'fuck with that!" Grimmjow spat, "She was an enemy and she was also that Kurosaki bastard's weak spot. You know what they say, ne? _All's fair in love and war_?"

"Hmmm," Tetsuya muttered disapprovingly.

"Look, if you want to be tight-assed about it, I can just leave you here and let you die when the little bit of blood you've got left in you runs out and you bleed to death," Grimmjow snapped, "But I think you want to live, so just shut it and..."

The former Espada paused and flinched as several fat raindrops splashed onto his crouched body, and several more splattered on Tetsuya's flushed and fevered forehead and cheeks.

"Great..."

"Do you dislike the rain?" Tetsuya asked, his expression strangely placid as more of the large, wet droplets landed on his face and throat.

"I don't know," the hollow confessed, "It does muck things up, but..."

He held out a hand and caught several of the raindrops.

"I guess it's not so bad."

He blinked and glared up at the sky as lightning flashed and rumbling thunder sounded, nearly on top of it.

"But we really should get you out of this."

"I thought you said I would bleed to death," Tetsuya reminded him.

"Hey," the blue-haired man growled softly, "I may think you're cute, but I'm not getting fried by lightning, just so I can sit out here and hold your hand, okay?"

"Well, it isn't as though I can move on my own yet."

"So, don't move," Grimmjow said, sliding his hands under Tetsuya's slender body and carefully lifting him.

"Oh!" Tetsuya gasped, closing his eyes tightly and wrapping his arms around the former Espada's shoulders.

"You know where there's anyplace we can get out of the storm?" he asked, looking around.

"B-back that way," Tetsuya panted, resting his face against Grimmjow's shoulder, "The encampment has been abandoned, and I don't know if there are any provisions left, so..."

"Don't worry," Grimmjow said, smirking and glaring into Tetsuya's widened, sapphire eyes as they opened again, "If' I get hungry, I have a nice shinigami morsel right here, ne?"

"That is _not _funny!" Tetsuya complained, frowning.

"Yeah? Who said I was kidding?"


End file.
